Stand By You
by kickasswicca
Summary: (OOTP Spoilers Ahead)


"_Stand By You"_

__

A tall stack of books made its way down the stairs. Or at least it would have been doing so to anyone who didn't know Hermione Granger. The bindings of the books faced different directions and the entire pile was doing a damn good impression of the Leaning Tower of Pisa. One wondered how the petite witch could navigate the halls of Hogwarts rendered almost completely blinded by her "light" summer reading. If stopped to inquire about such a feat, Hermione would have smiled (at least one figured she was smiling) and said that her other senses had become attuned to the surroundings in the immense castle. That, she would say, and five years of practice.

Five years of practice had also gotten her to the point where she could identify her friends while blindfolded. Or, in her case, otherwise impeded. The sound of the radio playing in the common room did not mask the distinct sound of crying she heard from the chair farthest away from the fireplace. As soon as she got closer, she knew exactly who it was.

_Harry._ _Oh, God. Harry._

Her arms involuntarily dropped the books onto the common room floor and Hermione rushed across the room towards the chair in the corner. She knelt in front of him and looked up into his eyes. His normally vibrant green eyes looked clouded and he was staring straight ahead, not blinking. Harry sat with his knees to his chest, trying his best to disappear from sight. From life. She reached out to touch his cheek and he jerked his head away, avoiding her touch. Hermione's heart splintered into a thousand pieces. He looked so lost. She tilted his head to look towards hers again and held her hand to his cheek. The song on the radio increased in volume and Hermione softly started to sing.

**Oh, why you look so sad,**

**The tears are in your eyes,**

**Come on and come to me now.**

Harry looked at her and she noticed blood on his lips. He had been biting his lower lip to keep from crying. She felt her own eyes filling with tears.

**And don't be ashamed to cry,**

**Let me see you through,**

**'Cause I've seen the dark side too.**

He blinked repeatedly and one lone tear fell unbidden from his eye. Hermione wiped it away with her thumb and looked into his eyes. Her own asked silent questions about what was wrong.

**When the night falls on you,**

**You don't know what to do,**

**Nothing you confess**

**Could make me love you less.**

Harry tried his best to avoid her gaze. He didn't want her to know what he was thinking. What he was thinking would scare her, just as it did himself. He hated himself more and more with each passing second. The death of Sirius replayed in his mind over and over like a broken record. Even worse, seeing Hermione made his mind run her almost-death simultaneously. Losing his godfather had been excruciating, but losing Hermione would have broken him.

**I'll stand by you,**

**I'll stand by you,**

**Won't let nobody hurt you,**

**I'll stand by you.**

Hermione was unaware of the running soliloquy in Harry's mind, but she knew who he was grieving. Watching as Sirius fell through the veil was one of those moments that seemed like it proceeded in slow motion. The entire Army was powerless to stop it. Then the sound of the Death Eaters reveling in the loss of a person of good set her teeth on edge. Even now, she grew increasingly angry and she had to fight to keep her composure.

**So, if you're mad, get mad;**

**Don't hold it all inside,**

**Come on and talk to me now.**

**And hey,**

**What you got to hide?**

**I get angry too,**

**Well, I'm a lot like you.**

Harry closed his eyes and grit his teeth. It wasn't fair! Voldemort did not find it overkill to not only kill his parents, but every person he cared about was constantly looking death in the eyes. Goddamn Death Eaters! Goddamn Voldemort! Striking the armchair in fury, he hit the arm of the chair with such force that it was a wonder his arm hadn't broken. The arm wasn't as lucky. The chair's arm listed at an awkward angle after the angry teenager lifted his own arm.

Hermione jumped at the sudden act of violence. She swallowed her own feelings and grasped Harry's hands between her own. She felt him shaking with anger and could feel her own hands tremble with emotion. Soon, the sound of Hermione singing calmed him down again. He still cried, eyes still locked onto hers. Hermione's eyes were filled with tears and she tried her best to wipe every tear of his away.

**When you're standing at the crossroads**

**And don't know which path to choose,**

**Let me come along,**

**'Cause even if you're wrong,**

**I'll stand by you,**

**I'll stand by you,**

**Won't let nobody hurt you.**

She sang quietly, letting her voice rise and fall with the notes. A wave of soothing energy washed over Harry. The anger dissipated, but it did not leave. The grief and the anger subsided for the moment and he marveled at the witch in front of him. Hermione always knew just what to do. Though a large part of him blamed it on her should-have-been-Ravenclaw studying, a small voice in the back of his mind piped up and said the words he had never dared to speak aloud. That he loved her. And she loved him. He knew now that she would lay down her life for him and he was determined it would never happen. They would be together, through sickness and health, until death do they part. Except Harry erased the last part of the vow mentally and replaced it with "and they lived happily ever after".

He then realized that he was saying wedding vows when he was a teenager! It startled him out of his epiphany, but his entire being knew the words were right, no matter their origin.

**I'll stand by you,**

**Take me in into your darkest hour,**

**And I'll never desert you,**

**I'll stand by you.**

**And when, when the night falls on you, baby,**

**You're feeling all alone,**

**You won't be on your own.**

Hermione noticed his change in demeanor. It wasn't a physical change as much as a change in the air around him. Harry pulled Hermione to her feet and hugged her to himself. Embracing her, he sang the final stanza of the song softly in her ear. And meant it.

**I'll stand by you,**

**I'll stand by you,**

**Won't let nobody hurt you.**

**I'll stand by you,**

**Take me in into your darkest hour,**

**And I'll never desert you.**

**I'll stand by you.**

The End


End file.
